Although writings and stories had been around for a very long time, most writing existed as Epic Poems before the early 18th century. Epic poems are long narrative poems which usually tell the story of some all but invincible hero on some sort of adventure, such as Beowulf, or The Iliad. The novel first began to come out in France, where a popular form of prose was the heroic romances, which were long narratives about characters who went on arduous adventures.
Due to the creation of the middle class in Britain, the novel began to gain popularity, since many people in society could now read, and had money left over to purchase books. Biographies, journals, and diaries also became popular, due to an interest in the human persona. The first English novels concerned themselves with middle class characters who struggled with morality and circumstances.
In the early 19th century, the focus of the novel shifted, into the movement of Romanticism, which was more concerned about how imaginative the novels could be, rather than how emotional they were. Such novels included Frankenstein, and Moby Dick. When Queen Victoria's reign began, the dominant form of novel became the Victorian novel. These novels dealt with middle-class heroes who responded to society and learned right from wrong through various errors. Sir Walter Scott began a trend in novels when he began writing and publishing novels in three part episodes. This created the sub-climax, which made the reader want to know more and had them waiting for the next installment. Charles Dickens and Lewis Caroll are considered Victorian novelists.
When the industrialization movement began, novels changed once again, this time towards Realism which showed characters who were neither good nor bad, and which rejected the ideas of romanticism, which had been the previous main movement. Realism simply showed society in a realistic way, full of people's moral ambiguities and realistic emotions and problems. It wasn't long however, before realism shifted to naturalism. Naturalism took everything that realism had been known for and made it darker. They placed characters in harsher situations and usually made them pessimistic. They struggled to face their environment, against which they were powerless.
By the time the 20th century came around, once again, novels would evolve. The characters in modernism questioned everything from God, to human reason, to reality. Many novels reflected the historical events of the time, such as WWI, The Great Depression, and WWII, as well as communism. These novels were an even darker adaptation of naturalism, where all hope was gone and nothing made sense. It is this movement to which Heart of Darkness belongs. In the case of Heart of Darkness, the historical background comes from Great Britain's colonization of Africa. Though many people considered Britain's attempts to be vain, they continued to try to bring light to the continent. They enslaved the people of Africa to help them build their stations, and forced their laws upon them. Since Conrad himself experienced this point in time in Africa, many of the things he described in Heart of Darkness actually came from his journals from his time in the Congo.
The current movement of novels, called postmodernism is what came next. Today, we see a much greater variety of themes and messages in novels. They can be about anything and everything, and thus, it is hard to classify them. Some typical characteristics associated with postmodernism is that the world can't be explained be reason alone, or that the world is governed by a higher power. Playing with the order of chronological events is also a typical associated idea. Magical and otherworldly events and graphic novels are subdivisions of this movement.
History of the Novel
Although writings and stories had been around for a very long time, most writing existed as Epic Poems before the early 18th century. Epic poems are long narrative poems which usually tell the story of some all but invincible hero on some sort of adventure, such as Beowulf, or The Iliad. The novel first began to come out in France, where a popular form of prose was the heroic romances, which were long narratives about characters who went on arduous adventures.Due to the creation of the middle class in Britain, the novel began to gain popularity, since many people in society could now read, and had money left over to purchase books. Biographies, journals, and diaries also became popular, due to an interest in the human persona. The first English novels concerned themselves with middle class characters who struggled with morality and circumstances.
In the early 19th century, the focus of the novel shifted, into the movement of Romanticism, which was more concerned about how imaginative the novels could be, rather than how emotional they were. Such novels included Frankenstein, and Moby Dick. When Queen Victoria's reign began, the dominant form of novel became the Victorian novel. These novels dealt with middle-class heroes who responded to society and learned right from wrong through various errors. Sir Walter Scott began a trend in novels when he began writing and publishing novels in three part episodes. This created the sub-climax, which made the reader want to know more and had them waiting for the next installment. Charles Dickens and Lewis Caroll are considered Victorian novelists.
When the industrialization movement began, novels changed once again, this time towards Realism which showed characters who were neither good nor bad, and which rejected the ideas of romanticism, which had been the previous main movement. Realism simply showed society in a realistic way, full of people's moral ambiguities and realistic emotions and problems. It wasn't long however, before realism shifted to naturalism. Naturalism took everything that realism had been known for and made it darker. They placed characters in harsher situations and usually made them pessimistic. They struggled to face their environment, against which they were powerless.
By the time the 20th century came around, once again, novels would evolve. The characters in modernism questioned everything from God, to human reason, to reality. Many novels reflected the historical events of the time, such as WWI, The Great Depression, and WWII, as well as communism. These novels were an even darker adaptation of naturalism, where all hope was gone and nothing made sense. It is this movement to which Heart of Darkness belongs. In the case of Heart of Darkness, the historical background comes from Great Britain's colonization of Africa. Though many people considered Britain's attempts to be vain, they continued to try to bring light to the continent. They enslaved the people of Africa to help them build their stations, and forced their laws upon them. Since Conrad himself experienced this point in time in Africa, many of the things he described in Heart of Darkness actually came from his journals from his time in the Congo.
The current movement of novels, called postmodernism is what came next. Today, we see a much greater variety of themes and messages in novels. They can be about anything and everything, and thus, it is hard to classify them. Some typical characteristics associated with postmodernism is that the world can't be explained be reason alone, or that the world is governed by a higher power. Playing with the order of chronological events is also a typical associated idea. Magical and otherworldly events and graphic novels are subdivisions of this movement.